Mobile news

Some good news, please, Sony Ericsson? Anything? Perhaps a surprise Idou ship date? You desperately need something to counter this dismal quarterly report you just dropped on a bad news-saturated public, showing a net loss of €293 million (about $382 million) in the three-month period ending March 31 -- more than €100 million more than the amount you shed in the quarter prior. Despite reassurances to the contrary, we suspect that neither Sony nor Ericsson are prepared to tolerate red ink out of their joint venture forever, and it doesn't help that you've put Android on the back burner indefinitely. What's more, we thought your staff might be able to exhale now that the "cost saving program" to curtail spending by €300 million by cutting 2,000 jobs is complete, but you've coupled the bleak report with the announcement of an additional 2,000 cuts. Your shipped units are off a staggering 35 percent year over year, to boot; maybe the "good" news -- and we're really reaching here -- is that your European rivals are sharing in your pain right about now. Chins up, guys, and get some quality product out of the labs.

There's a mild chance that Sony Ericsson CEO Hideki Komiyama has been hitting the sauce just a wee bit too hard of late, but we're guessing it's mostly just an inability to comprehend his own company's situation. As SE pushes out awful report after awful report, the company's head honcho has just revealed that it'll be some time yet before it hops on the Android bandwagon -- as if it really has time on its side. In an interview with Reuters, he stated: "[Going Android] does require a lot of evaluation, as well as a lot of testing, a lot of acceptance from a consumer viewpoint, and there is still some time to go." He did confess that "looking ahead," he viewed it as an "important operating system," but he definitely gave no indication that we'd see an Android-based SE handset in the near future. Which is strange, really, considering that we'd already heard it would produce one during this calender year...

Don’t worry, they’re not backing out entirely, but Sony Ericsson wants you to know that their Android handset (or handsets) won’t be coming for quite some time. They want to make something, you know, different. They didn’t put any sort of date on it, unsurprisingly, but they do sound kind of sincere.

CEO Hideki Komiyama described the delay: “It does require a lot of evaluation, as well as a lot of testing, a lot of acceptance from a consumer viewpoint, and there is still some time to go.” That’s not really saying anything significant, but it’s far from the non-statement they could have made, something along the lines of “We are considering all options and market flizucuations.”

At the moment, they don’t have much to differentiate their product from, but by the time they get theirs out (let’s just arbitrarily say Winter), they’ll have a whole lot more competition to worry about.

by Devin Coldewey on April 17, 2009

Your first thought when you hear "C905 Plus" might be, "oh, dear, the plain ol' C905 hasn't even been released on Rogers or AT&T yet." Well, we wouldn't worry about that too much, because it turns out that the Plus isn't much of a retooling -- in fact, it's not a retooling at all. Instead, Sony Ericsson has simply dropped its latest and greatest firmware on the thing to include new features like Smile Shutter, bundled an 8GB Memory Stick Micro card, and moved on with life. In fact, the C905 Plus is being billed as a limited offering in the UK at this point, so we wouldn't be surprised to see this fade into oblivion in the next few months -- at which point we can all get back to our regularly-scheduled 8.1 megapixel envy.

[Via Phone Arena]

When you think of fun, what do you picture? A gentle summer breeze on the porch, a cool libation in your hand. Round after round of hyper-competitive UNO keeping everyone on the edge of their seats; Reverses and Wild Draw Fours are flying left and right like there's no tomorrow. The woman to the right of you -- whose name you can't seem to recall at the moment, unfortunately -- certainly seems to be enjoying herself, owing in no small part to the whippets and the brilliant playlist you've selected for the occasion. You've elected to channel those indescribably rare Wham! bootlegs through your Sony Ericsson W205, conveniently attached to the just-announced MS410 speaker stand; how you came across an MS410 already is anybody's guess, since it's not available until later this quarter -- but any casual, innocent talk of corporate theft faded into oblivion two or three Tequila Sunrises ago. Now, all that matters is how you're going to dig out of that 61-point UNO hole you've found yourself in, how you're going to get another Wild Turkey without getting out of your seat, and how you're going to covertly jog your memory of that girl's name before things get awkward. And if the Wham! runs out before that all happens, God forbid, it's just a damned good thing the MS410 works as an FM antenna, too.

I had the opportunity to test Sony Ericsson’s newest mobile phone, the G9, in Tokyo today. The device is the first KDDI au is selling in Japan under the so-called iida brand. It’s not officially on sale yet, but I could lay my hands on finished versions for a few minutes in a KDDI showroom. The G9 will be available in Japan next week.

Design-wise, the phone is nothing special. A typical slider with a keyboard featuring sloped buttons made of aluminum, that were nice to press (but who cares if there is the iPhone). The G9 measures 115 x 50 x 17.4mm, weighs 128g and comes with a quite conventional 3.0-inch LCD panel (resolution 480 x 854). It has a nice stainless frame and a 3MP camera that can take good pictures. But again, this is nothing really special.

I surfed the web with the G9, but compared with Android or the iPhone, the experience was so 2007. May the Japanese phones have digital TV tuners, better cameras or e-payment functions, I still would never want to replace my iPhone.

Photo Gallery by Picturesurf

by Serkan Toto on April 10, 2009

If you'd been saving the quid for an AB900 or MBS-900, well... we don't really know how to put this, but it looks like you're going to need to find some other way to spend the cash. SEMC Blog astutely notes that the pair of Bluetooth accessories have been unceremoniously scrubbed from Sony Ericsson's official site, an ominous sign that they may have been canceled. Clearly, they're not the only in-car handsfrees or stereo speakers on the market, but they were cool -- and we'd be lying if we said the thought of their cancellations didn't make us inexplicably want them just a bit more.

Since the day it was announced, Sony Ericsson has been saying the 12.1 megapixel beast that is the Idou would be launching in the second half of 2009.

Sweden’s mobil.se thinks they’ve managed to narrow down the window a bit. According to the Sony Ericsson rep they spoke to, the Idou is lookin’ at launch sometime in October or November.

Of course, this could be a complete shot in the dark; Sony Ericsson is already saying the second half of ‘09, so saying “October or November” gives them a 33% shot at being right. Add in the fact that Sony Ericsson likely wants the handset out the door in time for Black Friday/Christmas shoppers, and it’s even more likely.

Whatever - we just want to touch it.

[via BoyGeniusReport]

by Greg Kumparak on April 7, 2009

Judging by their reactions, these beautiful urban teens are not too impressed by our awkward, yet heart-felt love song to Nintendo's GameCube. That's ok, at least we're not stuck with these two entry-level, dual-band, non-3G handsets from Sony Ericsson. First up, the S312 (available in Q2) candy bar whose main feature is a 2 megapixel camera that "can be used horizontally" (wow, just wow) and a dedicated camcorder key for quick capture of all the things you love to mock on YouTube. Unfortunately, sharing those precious moments will be less than spontaneous on this HSPA-less handset -- dual-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE-only kids. Next is the W205 (available in Q3) GSM/GPRS slider meant for first time Walkman owners. It features a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, FM radio and TrackID music recognition with an integrated speaker to prove to others just how awesome your music tastes are. An optional, strap-on MS410 speaker stand that's powered by the phone will extend the range of your ego all the way to the front of the bus. No prices given, though we expect them to be free with contract when they land in and around Croydon. See what they're laughing at after the break.

Read -- S312
Read -- W205

Don’t worry: these won’t come out here. The S312 is a 2-megapixel camera phone with dedicated “camera” button for taking impromtu snaps of your friends and relations. It should be available in Q3 2009.

The W205 (shown here) has a 1.3-megapixel camera and FM tuner and supports up to an amazing 2 gigabytes of Memory Stick Micro storage. It should be available in Q3 as well.

How far the mighty have fallen.

by John Biggs on April 7, 2009

And here we were envious of the 21Mbps HSPA+ service currently offered by Telstra in Australia. Now we hear that Ericsson will be demonstrating its 56Mbps HSPA multi-carrier MIMO technology at CTIA (using a router, not handset) later this week with scheduled deployment set for 2010. By the end of 2009, Ericsson claims that it will support 42Mbps commercial deployments. All this assumes that carriers hold steady with HSPA and don't jump straight to LTE or WiMax... ok, LTE.

Ah, the natural progression of a handset. Rumor? Check. Official launch? Check. In the wild spottings? As of now, check! Sony Ericsson's recently outed T707 flip phone has already been acquired and photographed over at DailyMobile, and while there's nothing here out of the ordinary, it's still a must-see for any SE enthusiast. Check the gallery in the read link below.

[Thanks, Daniel]

by Laura June, posted Mar 26th 2009 at 8:38PM

The Aussies are laughing all the way to 21Mbps, sure, but where's a denizen of the Old World supposed to get their fix? Austria's mobilkom has officially become the first European carrier to launch HSPA+ service, using Ericsson-sourced equipment to offer peak data rates up to the same 21Mbps offered by Telstra. What's more, Ericsson says they'll hit 28Mbps "in the course of the year," so the only challenge left on the table is getting a whole bunch of devices that can take advantage -- USB sticks and ExpressCards are a forgone conclusion, sure, but where are our blazing handsets with five-minute battery lives?



[Via SlashPhone]
by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 26th 2009 at 5:41AM

So far, we've only seen the Idou in black, but Sony Ericsson does like to play with the palette -- and sure enough, we're now seeing a shot of a silver model for the first time. SEMC Blog doesn't know whether this is a canceled or to-be-announced version, but like everyone, we're hoping it's the latter.
by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 25th 2009 at 2:18PM

There’s a reason you can’t really see the phone in this picture.

Let’s start with a little gem from the press release for this new S-E phone, shall we?

Maria knows that all eyes will be on her this season and thanks to her new T707; she can rest assured that whatever she does, she will look stylish, glamorous and be in control of her life with just the wave of a hand.

Now, to extrapolate, what we are seeing here is the suggestion that Maria Sharapova, besides having a mean arm, knows enough about cellphones to tell if she - or, in actuality, her travel coordinator and assistant - needs a gesture-based cellphone. Wait, what’s that you say? You think S-E paid her to say all those nice things about this otherwise dud of a flip phone? Why you might be right. And there we find the flaw in S-E’s plan for world domination.

The world needs another Motorola like it needs another Pol Pot. Assigning cool to cellphones through the use of celebrity endorsement may work in Japan where gaigin are still considered exotic but slapping a cellphone in Maria’s hand, winding her up, and letting her walk around Miami touting its benefits is like shaving the Sony Ericsson logo on a golden retriever and setting it loose in a park: people will love the dog and wonder what idiot shaved a logo into the poor thing. Then they’ll call the police.

Oh, and then they make you suck on this at the end:

The T707 will be available in selected markets from Q2 in the colours Mysterious Black, Spring Rose and Lucid Blue.

I truly loathe Sony Ericsson.

Light up your life with Sony Ericsson’s stylish new T707 mobile phone

Add a touch of glamour to your day with the stunning new T707 mobile phone from Sony Ericsson. This innovative phone radiates style and glamour with its unique, eye-catching light effects and gesture control to guarantee you will never be left in the dark!

Miami, USA - 26th March 2009 - Sony Ericsson today announced its latest mobile phone, the T707, with tennis star and style icon Maria Sharapova, who perfectly epitomises the phone’s sleek and elegant qualities.

The T707 truly interacts with the user - it lights up when you receive a call and you can personalise the light settings to each of your friends, so you always know who wants you. If you are too busy to answer, simply end the call with a wave of your hand over the screen - you can also do the same gesture to snooze the alarm - your very own magic wand!

“The T707 is my ultimate new accessory,” said Maria. “I am always on the go and I need a phone that is easy to use, and of course chic as well! I never miss a call with the eye-catching light effects and personalised pulsation settings and I love the fact that I can just wave my hand to mute a call using the gesture control. I can also use my practical and stylish Bluetooth(TM) Headset HBH-PV715 to take my calls, check my emails and blog to my website from the phone. It’s great to have a phone that looks good but also lets me keep up-to-date with everything I need.”

Perfect pixels for every pose

Coordinate the T707 to any outfit, as it comes in a rainbow range of three clam shells to suit every mood. Whatever you wear will be perfectly captured by the 3.2 megapixel camera, making sure that you stand out on screen as much as you do in real life. The photos can then be uploaded to your personal social networking site using the HTML web browser, so you and your friends can keep up to date wherever you are.

Customise your phone like your clothes

With the T707 you will never be left behind in the style stakes, as the 2.2 inch screen is waiting to be customised to your individual taste. The changing wallpaper themes will ensure that you are never caught wearing clashing colours! The theme also changes from day into evening, which is perfect if, like Maria, you need to match with everything from tennis whites to a little black dress.

Packed with extras, as one option is never enough.

This is one accessory you will never leave home without as the T707 packs in more extras than even your handbag. The FM radio and Bluetooth(TM) audio streaming will entertain you when you are out and about, and you can download music, games and ringtones at the touch of a button with PlayNow(TM) to ensure that boredom is something which happens to other people!

“The T707 is the next step in the style evolution from Sony Ericsson,” said Linda Schori, Global Marketing Business Manager for Style Category, Sony Ericsson. “Maria Sharapova is the perfect partner for us as she exemplifies not only elegance but also substance, just like the T707. It works hard and is also sleek, glamorous and desirable - a truly winning combination!”

Maria knows that all eyes will be on her this season and thanks to her new T707; she can rest assured that whatever she does, she will look stylish, glamorous and be in control of her life with just the wave of a hand.

The T707

The light of your life

Unique pulsating notification and light effects

Day and Night changing theme

Gesture control for muting calls and alarm

Capture moments with 3.2 MP camera

The T707 supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSDPA 2100. The T707a supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100. The T707 will be available in selected markets from Q2 in the colours Mysterious Black, Spring Rose and Lucid Blue.

- ENDS -

by
John Biggs
on
March 26, 2009